An Austin vet knew the hurt stray in front of her from Facebook. He had been missing nine months
After nine months of neighbors leaving food out and posting sightings to a lost-pets group, a vet at an Austin rescue scrolled back and recognized a stray from Facebook.
14 November 2026
Coco slipped out through his gate in Austin, Texas, in December 2025. He was a skittish little dog, and for weeks people across the city tried to catch him and bring him home to his owner, Mayra. Neighbors left food outside their homes and posted blurry pictures of him in the Austin Lost and Found Pets group on Facebook, The Dodo reported. Nobody could catch him.
Nine months later
In October, rescuers spotted a timid dog living in a patch of dead branches by a road. His fur was matted, he was covered in dirt and he could barely stand. He had hurt his hip and back legs when a car hit him.
Photo: Austin Pets Alive!, via The Dodo
They took him to Austin Pets Alive!, where staff cut out the mats and arranged surgery on his hip and legs.
Photo: Austin Pets Alive!, via The Dodo
The vet
Dr. Rachel Gordon, the vet on his case, thought he looked familiar. That night she opened the lost-and-found group on Facebook and scrolled back to the posts about Coco.
The rescue called Mayra. When she walked into the clinic, “he immediately crawled over to her and all of his reservations faded into pure relaxation,” Austin Pets Alive! told The Dodo. “Tears were flowing.”
Photo: Austin Pets Alive!, via The Dodo
Coco is home with Mayra and slowly learning to walk again. The rescue credits the Facebook group with getting him there, and is asking owners to microchip their pets.
Carry a story in five words
We run a game called Long Story Short: one real news sentence a day, and you keep the five words that carry it. Today’s is below. Do play.
How to play
One real news sentence. The job is to keep the five words that carry the story and let the rest go, then guess. Blue means the right word in the right place, orange the right word in the wrong place.
Yesterday: A boy has been named Time’s-Kid-of-the-Year for sensory-bags that help police and paramedics comfort lost or frightened children they find who, like him, have autism. The five were boy named Time’s-Kid-of-the-Year for sensory-bags.